Super Seattle Supper Club Success!

[magdon]

Oh là là! Un diner français!

First, though, thanks are in order. To Hope, for being such a fabulous hostess at the February dinner. To all the original members of the group for welcoming the three “newbies” to the group and making us immediately feel a part of this supper club. And to everyone for all the great food!!!

And now, the menu. We began with a wonderful artichoke and crab dip on marvelous homemade French bread (very impressive) followed by a Salade Semi-Niçoise (lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, capers & anchovies with tasty dressing). For the main course, we were wowed with Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine (cake of crepes filled with cream cheese, spinach and mushrooms). This Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipe involved making crepes and the sauce and the filling and then assembling it all: a lot of labor but it was well worth it. This was accompanied by Green Beans Provençal and Mushroom Duxelles. To finish up, we enjoyed Gâteau de crêpes à la Normande (Cake of crepes with apples) as well as a fabulous fruit and cheese plate composed of Brie, Roquefort, Camembert, baked lemon Ricotta, and Chevre served with hazelnuts, dried apricots and figs. As a side note, if you can find the above-mentioned Baked Lemon Ricotta, I recommend buying & eating immediately; it tastes like a wonderful, not-too-heavy lemon cheesecake.

Thanks again to everyone! I can’t wait till next month when we go Caribbean!

[magdon]

It certainly didn’t feel like the Caribbean when a snowstorm blew into town an hour before our March Supper Club, but then the skies cleared and the eating began. As always, a big thanks to our hosts, Paul & Adele.

We began with spicy chicken skewers and Plantain Chips (http://www.cookinglight.com/special/hlcc_may01_chips.asp) accompanied by Jamaican beer and green pina-coladas (it was practically St. Patty’s Day after all). If the color was not entirely authentic, the rum was certainly was, brought back from a Jamaican honeymoon by Jessica. I did not get many details on the skewers, but the plantains were seasoned with salt & pepper, surprisingly little spice for a big flavor. They tasted far more complicated. We moved to the dining room for the main course: Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin (http://www.cookinglight.com/special/hlcc_may01_pork.asp). Paul & Adele braved the cold to provide us with not one but 3 perfectly grilled tenderloins with varying levels of peppers & heat. To accompany this we had Rice and Black Bean Salad with Cumin Dressing (CL 3/02 p. 168), Sweet Potato & Plantain Bake (http://cookinglight.recipes.aol.com/pls/details.jsp?searchString=null&cuisine=Caribbean&partner=Cooking+Light&browse=Caribbean&firstOffset=25), green salad with Orange-Soy Vinaigrette (http://cookinglight.recipes.aol.com/pls/details.jsp?searchString=null&cuisine=Caribbean&partner=Cooking+Light&browse=Caribbean&firstOffset=18), and fruit salad with a delightful creamy (sour cream, was it?) dressing. The Rice & Bean salad was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat; be careful of the jalapenos though! The plantains balanced nicely with the sweet potatoes, so that neither was overpowering, and the almonds on top added a nice crunch. Thanks to the fruit salad, several of us got our first taste of starfruit, which is “sort of like a kiwi, but without the fuzz.” We finished with Honey-Curry Glazed Pineapple (http://cookinglight.recipes.aol.com/pls/details.jsp?searchString=honey-curry&partner=Cooking+Light&firstOffset=0) served over coconut sorbet. The recipe promised that the curry would taste fine in the dessert, and it was right. Plus it was very simple and quick to make.

As Debbie pointed out, the food keeps getting better and better. So stay tuned for new culinary highs in April as we explore “Food From Where You Came From."

[magdon]

Another fabulous evening! The weather even cooperated, the clouds clearing enough for us to enjoy the sunset over the Olympic mountains. Thanks to everyone for braving our neighborhood parking situation, and making the first big dinner in our apartment such a success.

The theme this month was Food From Where You are From, and apparently we all come from places with very tasty cuisine! We fell considerably from last month’s record number of Cooking Light dishes (I think we only had one this month) but we bravely struggled on.;) We began with a bevy of appetizers. Potato-Apple Pancakes with Horseradish & Smoked Salmon (Bon Appetit, December 1999)were from our native Seattleites. The chef was a bit worried about that the apples would taste odd, but they blended with the potatoes beautifully. Southern and Central California presented crostini with four different spreads: (Gilroy) Roasted Garlic, Spicy (Santa Barbara) Olive, Avocado Mousse, and Artichoke. For someone who had trouble deciding what to make, Kristan certainly did an excellent job! Last but certainly not least were 2 kinds of potstickers from China, plus a wonderful dipping sauce. These were accompanied by a great California red (Pietra Santa 1997 Sassolino) and Sam Adams & Pike Place Brewing beers.

At the table we began with a palate-cleansing cranberry sorbet (Boston/cooksillustrated.com enotes), before moving onto Cioppino (San Francisco/The Best Recipe Soups & Stews), wild rice pilaf (Minnesota), Asparagus, Tomato and Avocado Salad (California), San Francisco sourdough, and Boston Brown Bread (Gourmet Magazine). Cooks Illustrated once again proved its ability to provide the "best recipe": the cioppino was a great combination of seafood and tomato broth, with a kick. It was perfectly balanced by the refreshing lemony salad. The rice added a great earthiness to the meal. We had another lovely California red, David Bruce 2000 Petite Syrah, with dinner. To finish, New England Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. This dish has always been one of the first signs of spring for me, and this version, with impressive homemade pie crust, was excellent.

Thanks again to everyone. Looking forward to next month and our Indian feast!

[magdon]

As promised, this month we experimented with Indian cuisine. Many thanks to Tina for opening her home to us.

We began by sipping on tamarind coolers (Best of Gourmet 1998) while some of the dishes for the meal were completed. The predominating comment was a slightly hesitant “interesting.” I don’t know how to describe the flavor: slightly sour, perhaps? A bit salty even? I think I could have increased the herb content a bit. They also would probably have been very refreshing if it had been 95 degrees out; since it was Seattle in May, this was not the case.

We then moved to the living room with a beautiful low table strewn with rose petals and covered with platters of delicious looking food. We had chapattis, Birds Nests, curried vegetables, Fragrant Chicken in Creamy Almond Sauce (CL 8/01), Lentil Dal with Garlic & Cumin Infused Oil, Raita with Grapes and Mint, Tomato-Garlic Chutney (all CL 11/01), and Kotimira-Pachadi (Shredded Carrot Salad with Mustard Seeds, Best of Gourmet 1998). The condiments that I made were all very easy to make. The carrot salad was a lot of fun because I had to go to an Indian market for some of the ingredients, something I would not have done were it not for Supper Club! I also really liked the raita, which had raisins and walnuts along with the grapes and mint. I thought it made a very nice contrast to the other dishes. I was, however, disappointed in the spice level of the other dishes I made, and Adele mentioned that she thought her vegetables could have been spicier as well. This has been mentioned on other BB discussions of CL Indian food, so I feel better that it is not just us. I am not usually into really spicy food, but Supper Club for me is in a great part about trying new things, so some more zip would have been nice. Everything was very tasty though, especially the Birds Nests. They are, I think mashed potatoes combined with asparagus, rice noodles, and some other yummy things, then fried so that they look like nests. We finished with a dessert of fresh strawberries and kiwis over vanilla ice cream, accompanied by Indian tea.

Thanks again to everyone for such a great evening. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates for our June Beach BBQ!

[Peggy]

WOW!!

Incredible menus! I have missed your earlier posts. I will have to remember to check this board more often. Looking forward to hearing about your Beach BBQ in June!

Peggy

[magdon]

Thanks for the encouragement! I love reading about other clubs (& borrowing their ideas) so I'm trying to return the favor.

[magdon]

I was unable to attend the Beach BBQ :( Most sad since it was a perfect perfect day for it. So you'll have to rely on this report from the field:

We smoked a 6 lb. Copper River Salmon over alder wood, Northwest Tillicum Village style. Tina brought soy marinated beef skewers,
Paul and Adele brought Mango Margaritas, a Mango/Key Lime Pie, and smore's, Hope brought the beverage you gave her the recipe for [Watermelon Guava Kamikazes for a Crowd from the Seattle Times] but it spilled all over her car after a near accident, and Debbie brought the best baked beans.

It sounds like it was a great time. Until next month!

[magdon]

This month wins the award for the smallest supper club meeting yet: there were just 2 of us. Since we could not find a time when we could all get together, some of us decided to try a cooking class. That didn't work; we got wait-listed. So we decided to get really wild and actually COOK together. Because of kitchen constraints, previous cooking as been limited to the hostess finishing things off at the last minute. This time, the full meal was prepared. We made Curried Chicken with Plums and Ginger (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222615) (CL 7/99) which was sooooo good, green salad with potatoes and basalmic vinaigrette, sauteed spinach, Flemish sourdough bread (we didn't make this), and strawberries in basalmic for dessert accompanied by Dilletante Chocolates. The produce was, I think, all either purchased-organic or homegrown, so it was all very fresh and delicious. The chicken was quite easy to make, and the plums & ginger made for a nice difference from the usual curry recipe. I definitely plan to make this one again. The food was not as elaborate as it usually is, but it was great to have a chance to talk and to share the preparation of a delicious meal.

The theme for August has not officially been chosen yet, but the rumor is that we may be having a Russian BBQ! I, for one, can't wait to see what we'll be eating.

[magdon]

The Group is back. This month was a celebration of summer. No theme, just a chance to eat amazing food, sit outside, and chat with friends.

We began with brie, grapes, and eggplant caviar in Debbie’s lovely garden, sipping on Gingered Gin & Tonics (Bon Appetit, March 2001). This is my new favorite summer-time drink. I’m usually not a gin fan, but the ginger syrup makes the whole concoction very refreshing. Our main dish was Russian shishkabob called Shishlik, a family tradition for our hostess. Chunks of lamb are marinated for 2 days in lemon juice, onions, salt and pepper, then grilled. It was accompanied by a non-traditional yogurt sauce, which we all thought was a great addition. To round out the meal we had two pizzas (CL 8/01): Mushroom & Gorgonzola and Tomato with Garlic and Smoked Mozzarella. Homemade pizza is always so good, and these were no exception. The flavor combinations were great, the dough perfectly crisp and tender. We really appreciated summer’s bounty with Hope’s August Garden Salad full of veggies & lettuce, all grown in her garden. As the sun set over Puget Sound, we finished with Berry & Pistachio Ice Cream Cake (Martha Stewart Living, 8/02). The cake layers were not as saturated with berry sauce as they should have been, and so it didn’t look quite as pretty as Martha’s but it sure tasted good! And it was surprisingly easy to make.

It was a wonderful way to say farewell to summer. Next month we’ll celebrate the Club’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with a cocktail & hors d’oeuvres party.

[magdon]

We made it! One year! Of the 3 founding members, 2 are still here (# 3 moved out of state), and they looked smashing in their tiaras.

We celebrated with a cocktail party. The food was fabulous as usual, but half the fun was seeing each other all dressed up. We are a very stylish bunch!

Lobster Salad Canapes (Gourmet 9/02): actually made with crab & they were great. I was especially impressed that the cucumber rounds the salad sat on had indeed been cut with a scalloped cookie cutter, making for a beautiful presentation.

Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade with Crostini (CL 12/00): A very intense tomato flavor, even though it was made with tomotoes & olives. That intensity makes it really stand out.

Calamari with tzatziki? sauce: No idea where this recipe was from, but it was so good. I am also very impressed when anyone tackles calamari, even more so when they do it with great success. One of those ingredients that is on my list to try but I haven’t yet worked up the nerve. Luckily I have friends who have!

Fig, Gorgonzola & Pecan Bites: Another no recipe dish, but equally delicious. I’m not usually a big gorgonzola fan, but the combo with the other 2 ingredients was amazing, especially when warmed in the oven so they’re all toasty and a bit gooey. Very simple & elegant.

Mini Frittatas with Ham & Cheese (CL Dec 01): Read lots of mixed reviews on these but I went ahead anyway, although I made 1 ½ times the recipe and then just made 24 bites. They stayed pretty full that way, although, since it was mostly egg, they were pretty insubstantial. Not a ton of flavor or anything very exciting. At least they were easy to make.

Artichoke Crab Tarts (Best of CL Holidays, 1997): Fun to make, and they looked neat in the wonton shells, but I think there were too many flavors. The red pepper did perk things up, especially in terms of color, but I was distracted from what should’ve been the main flavors of the dish.


Curried Cornmeal Canapes with Ginger-Carrot Butter (CL 9/02): Couldn’t find chickpea flour (well, I didn’t really try) but I thought the cornmeal worked just fine. These I really liked. They looked really gorgeous, what with the little squares and then the bright orange topping and then green parsley, plus the texture contrasts of polenta, carrot puree, and slivered almond. All the steps were really easy, just takes a bit of time, and mostly its not active time (like the cornmeal has to set up). Thumbs up on this one all around.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles (Intercourses: An Aphrodisiac cookbook): Oh yes, these were terrific! No idea about difficulty level, etc. but the results were wonderful. Very rich and a perfect ending to all the other nibbles of the night.

Of course, since it was a cocktail party, we had cocktails: Cosmopolitans, Gingered Gin & Tonics (again, they are that good, see August review), and Sandy Beaches (?? Kahlua, vodka & crème de menthe). A very festive occasion, all around. Next month, we get comfy in our slippers for brunch.

[Seattlejo]

I've just read down the whole thread and now I am drooling. It sounds fantastic, and is obivious that you all had a great time!
Hopefully the Seattle group I've joined does so very well.

[magdon]

I'm sure your group will be equally fabulous, Seattlejo. Be sure and let us know!

[kwormann]

I wanted to say I THOROUGHLY enjoy your posts!!!

[magdon]

A new member and a new meal. This month we welcomed Beth to our first Supper Club Brunch. Although we didn’t realize it at the time we picked the date, we managed to schedule this extravaganza for the end of Daylight Saving Time, which meant we all had an extra hour to get ready. A very good thing in the morning.

As always, the food was excellent. Our hostess provided what I have decided to call the Experience French Toast Project. She used a variety of breads and add-ons, like flaked coconut. We also had delicious crispy Waffles. I know from experience how hard it is to get waffles both crispy and tender (mine usually aren’t) so I’d say these were a great success. To top these, we had real Grade B maple syrup from Vermont and Rote Grutza, a German berry compote. Our Cooking Light recipe for the month was Strata Milano with Gorgonzola (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=223667). The chef said she followed the recipe exactly, and we were all amazed that it was a CL recipe (that’s a good thing!). It was very creamy and flavorful. The gorgonzola did not dominate; if you really like that flavor, you might want to up the amount. The servings were also quite generous. We finished off with delicious Orange Walnut muffins. They added a nice bit of tang to round out the meal. I went a bit crazy in the beverage department, so we had lots to drink. We began with my family’s traditional Christmas morning beverage Moose Milk. No idea where the name comes from. Its basically an “eye-opening” coffee flavored milkshake. With the food we had fresh-squeezed (not by me) orange juice and real hot chocolate with Marshmallow Clouds (Martha Stewart Living May? 2001). We finished off with Kona coffee.

Thanks to everyone for their contributions. Next month we go old school with a sit down Italian feast!

[magdon]

Well, I’m posting the November review before the December dinner, and that’s about all I have to say about the lateness of it. Our first sit-down, multi-course dinner in some months was a great success. It was made even more festive by the addition of two guests.

We started by nibbling (ok, chomping) on brie, apple & prosciutto crostini. They were an excellent combination of flavors, and who doesn’t love a bit of melted brie? Our first dinner course was Potato and Smothered Onion Soup (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan). Creamy and flavorful, it made for a great beginning. After a brief interlude (see story below*), we sampled fabulous HOMEMADE spinach-filled ravioli in a light tomato sauce. Perfection! The sauce was a beautiful color, the ravioli the more difficult round shape, AND they tasted great. Next, a bit of palette-cleansing Rosemary Sorbet (BA, 12/02), which I found very nice. I was a bit worried that it would be too rosemary-y but there was enough of a balance with the other ingredients that it was just refreshing. The main dish was Pan-Roasted Pork with Leeks (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226384) (CL, 3/01). Everyone said many nice things about it but I think it was kind of dry. The leeks were saucy enough to camouflage a great deal, and I tried to be super-careful cooking it because I was paranoid about it drying out, but something still went wrong. Sigh. This is the beauty of supper club: if one thing doesn’t work out, your fellow chefs are bound to fill in the gaps. And, naturally, the salad was excellent. A lovely mixture of greens with a warm pancetta vinaigrette (Martha Stewart). It was a perfect ending to the savory: enough character to stand on its own, but subtle enough to wind things down. Of course, then the dessert got the party going again. Tiramisu Anacapri (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=249960) (CL 5/02) and homemade Pizelles. The pizelles were a traditional family recipe; the tiramisu is one of those “I can’t believe it’s cooking light” recipes. A wonderful end to a great evening.

Next (this) month, we get creative and say “Ah nuts!”

*The story about the ravioli. They were made that afternoon and transported chez moi so there was a bit of sitting between making and cooking. And you know how soggy spinach is even if, as was the case here, you squeeze and squeeze and get out as much water as possible. So the dough got sticky and was sticking to the parchment and was tearing and it didn’t look like we’d be able to get them into the pan without them falling to pieces. For some reason, the idea I’ve read about crisping a duck with a hair dryer popped into my head, so we decided to try it out on soggy ravioli. It took a while, and we looked funny, but IT WORKED! And the ravioli were great.

[magdon]

This month we moved into the realm of single-ingredient themes. Many thanks to Tina for inspiring our creativity and being such a great hostess.

We began the evening by snacking on Blue Cheese Hazelnut Bites (http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=hazelnut04&date=20021204&query=blue+cheese). They are like savory little cookies, and would be excellent with a martini. I highly recommend these for your next party. According to Beth, they were easy to make. Plus there were two of us who do not normally like blue cheese, but we both loved these. Next, we brought out the EggNog with Nutmeg (http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1004). Another growing experience for me, as I am not usually an eggnog fan. It’s often very heavy, but this recipe (from Martha Stewart) was very light (in texture, not calories) because it involves whipping the egg whites and the cream. A word of warning: Hope only used about ¾ of the amount of alcohol called for, and it still had quite a kick. Luckily, it was now time for us to sit down to a table full of Kung POW Chicken, Fried Rice with Pineapple and Tofu (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222740), and Artichoke Heart, Grapefruit and Pine Nut Salad (Jamie Oliver). The chicken had some spice lurking in it, which is always nice. Debbie thought the colors in her fried rice had faded by the time it came to the table, but it still tasted great. The salad was refreshing and original. Dessert was an adventure. I made White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Crème Brulée (Elegantly Easy Crème Brulée by Debbie Puente). I had never made crème brulée before and was making it in one big dish rather than ramekins (for ease in transporting) so I was rather nervous. And then there was the whole brulée part. I had a torch I received as a gift last year, but the directions had disappeared. Happily, the two husbands in the group volunteered to try and figure it out, and they succeeded! My DH got to torch the sugar, and was very excited to finally participate in the creation of a supper club dish. Overall, it was much easier than I expected. The final result was most tasty, but VERY rich. It was supposed to make six servings but there were seven of us plus leftovers.

Thanks again to everyone for a great time! Next year :) we’ll start of with a menu of Winter Warmth.

[magdon]

The rain and the cold finally arrived in Seattle, just in time for our evening of Winter Warmth.

We started with two kinds of nibbles: Chile Roasted Edamame (CL 1/03) and Hot Brie Kisses (CL BB). Both were very tasty and easy to make, although the edamame recipe said to roast for 1 ½ hours, and after 30 minutes, they looked done to me (and were starting to explode). Also, I think they would be better straight from the oven. At table we were presented with two soups. The first was Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=223497) (CL), and the other Cheese Tortellini with White Beans, Sausage, and Kale (http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=106143) (BA 2/02). It was too hard to choose between them so I had a little of both! I haven’t had tortellini soup in quite a while, and I had forgotten how wonderful it could be. And as if that weren’t enough we also had a Tomato Risotto (Great Good Food by Julie Rosso). The simple clear flavors were a great accompaniment to the soup. But wait-- that’s not all! Whole Wheat Porcini Soda Bread (http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=107261) (BA 11/02) and Holiday Glogg (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=366521) (CL ??) were also available. To finish it all off, we indulged in Harvest Pear Crisp (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=344091) (CL 9/02).

Thanks to everyone for a great evening. Next month we will laissez les bons temps rouler with Mardi Gras.

[magdon]

MARDI GRAS! That was our theme this month and the bons temps were roulez-ing. It was also the one year anniversary of DH and I joining the club, which added to the party.

We started off with Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce (Barefoot Contessa Cookbook). These were amazing!! Very crabby, but with other great flavors too. And the sauce was much more than “gussied-up tartar sauce,” as the chef put it. A great beginning. For drinks we had superb Bloody Marys and Hurricanes. I’m not generally a huge fan of the first, but the tomato was well-combined with other tastes. And the Hurricanes were like candy (with a kick). Our entrée was Creole BBQ Shrimp (http://www.foodtv.com/recipes/re-c1/0,6255,ID=2864;DCBannerSection=holidays_gathering; DCSponsorSection=holiday_recipes,00.html) served over angel hair pasta. A perfect level of spice, and easy to make: what could be better. To accompany it, we had Artichoke Bread (posted on the BB) and Three Kings Salad (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=366249[/url). The bread had some issues in the making of it, but worked out fine and tasty in the end. The salad was good, but would’ve looked much prettier with the pomegranate seeds (out of season now, so sad). To top everything off with had Mango Lime Icebox Pie (CL 6/02). It was a great sweet-tart ending to all the spicy richness of the meal.

Great food, great conversation, and a great year! Next month—we don’t know yet, but I bet it will be tasty!

[magdon]

Yum, yum, yum! This month we had a Chili Cook Off with blue ribbons all around! We were a small group this month so we only had 2 chilis. The first was a CL White Chili (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222124). Chicken, cannellini beans, tomatillos, and lime juice made for a zesty combo. Was it spicy? I’m just not sure. Two of us thought it had some kick (I thought it had a lot), but DH was adding the Tabasco. And looking at the recipe, I not sure what would’ve made it so zippy. It was very good though. Chili #2 was (if I remember properly) an award winner in a Kansas City beef cooking contest. It had big hunks of beefs, lots of beans, a nice sauce and a hint of lime. I can absolutely see how it won, and can’t wait till I get the recipe. On the side, we had CL’s Cowboy Cornbread (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=351085). Again, very easy to make, tasty, and it looked really pretty with the red peppers and green chiles. Finally, we had CL’s Banana Split Cheesecake (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222218). It didn’t look so pretty (cracks everywhere, and it kind of stuck to the sides of the pan) but once you got all the toppings on it was fine. It definitely needs to be refrigerated for at least 8 hours. And it’s a fun dessert. Next month, we are again exploring meals other than dinner. It’s a tea party!

[magdon]

Tea and tunes on a Sunday afternoon—what could be nicer? Hope continued her championship of alternative meals (she was also hostess for our brunch) with a tea party. And since she will soon be abandoning us for love on the East Coast, my DH brought along his guitar so we could have a sing-a-long in her honor. We are very sad to be losing her, but will happily provide references to the supper club lucky enough to gain her.

So of course there was tea: blackcurrent, a homemade herbal, and one other. We also had:

Cheddar-Dill scones
Raspberry-Buttermilk scones
Smoked Salmon-Wasabi Tea sandwiches
Vanilla-Citrus Tea Ring with strawberry-rhubarb compote with ginger and lime
Lemon-poppyseed biscotti
Blue Cheese chicken salad with grapes
Fresh fruit salad with sour cream and brown sugar

The sandwiches and tea ring were both from the April 2003 Bon Appétit. The wasabi added a nice bit of kick to the usual salmon sandwich. The cake and compote were excellent together, and very easy to make. The chicken salad was an original, and served in puff-pastry cups. It added some heft to the meal, in a delicate way. The scones and biscotti rounded things out very nicely.

Next month is a two-fer. We will have our usual dinner, this time trying a new part of the globe and having a Thai feast (how have we not done Asia yet?). Plus, some of us are going on a food field trip—to New York City!